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Before the DHARMA Initiative

When Gerald was eight, Alvar Hanso stayed with his family while attending the University of Michigan (located in Ann Arbor, MI) as a foreign exchange student. Alvar bonded with the DeGroots, particularly Gerald, and stayed in contact with them over the years. Later, Gerald, and his future wife Karen, attended the University of Michigan as well, and were both doctoral candidates there. (Pearl Orientation video) When Gerald was a graduate student, he contacted Alvar, asking for funding for his and Karen's new project, the DHARMA Initiative. (Mysteries of the Universe)

Name reference

DeGroot, or De Groot, is a very common Dutch family name, meaning "the big" or "the great".

There was a Dutch novelist, philosopher and jurist named Hugo de Groot (lat. Grotius 1583–1645). [1]

There was a Dutch chess master and psychologist by the name of Adriaan de Groot. He conducted many psychological chess experiments. He broke the thought process of choosing a move into four stages, the first of which being the "orientation" phase. [2]

There was a famous Dutch Sinologist by the name of Jan Jakob Maria de Groot (Pen name J.J.M. de Groot) He was essentially a historian of religion. [3]

There is an accomplished British author by the name of Gerard DeGroot. He published a number of articles on the First World War. He also wrote The 60s Unplugged: A Kaleidoscopic History of a Disorderly Decade.

There are numerous references to (fictional) persons named De Groot in the mock newspaper accompanying the original vinyl release of rock group Jethro Tull's 1972 album Thick as a Brick. [4] Furthermore, there is a song entitled "Dharma for One" on their debut album This Was.

A novel named 'The Bomb' was written by a Gerard DeGroot in 2004. It is about the atom bomb and how it changed the world. The opening quote for the book is from Adlai Stevenson, "There is no evil in the atom; only in men's souls".